Harry Potter Fights Back
by companyband
Summary: It's Harry Potter's Sixth Year, recovery from his Godfathers death is easier after a letter from Sirius. Deciding he more than what Hogwarts can offer, Not HBP complaint, Story Abandoned
1. Chapter 1

Harry had just arrived back at Privet Drive, the sun was beginning to set when Harry had finally dragged his trunk upstairs and collapsed on to the bed, his mind was scrambled, sub consciously trying to find a thought apart from either the Prophecy or Sirius. But it was pointless, four hours later it looked like Harry was set for a sleepless night, he felt so exhausted but he was haunted by that Prophecy, it had basically sentenced him to death but with no date all he could do was wait, the waiting... Harry jumped of his bed, it was only the sound of an owl hooting but the interuptence in the dead silence had startled him. _"Constant Vigilance" _he heard a voice say, it almost brought a smile to his lips, he turned to the point of origin of the hoot and saw a very regal looking owl holding letter for him. He opened his window quietly and untied the letter, the owl immediately flew away. Obviously the sender wasn't awaiting a reply... breaking the wax seal he immediately recognised the handwriting...

_Harry,_

_This letter is only to be seen by you, it is charmed that if anyone else tries to read it then it will look like a blank piece of parchment, like the Marauders Map. This is part of two letters, the other you will receive at my will reading, nobody will know about this letter being sent, it's to be sent from Gringotts in the even of my death. Seeing as when I am writing this I am currently a fugitive I have never been able to claim for the Black Vault but as the oldest male and having not been officially dis-owned by my headache of a mother I can pass on the vault to anyone I choose. _

_That someone will be you, I don't want you to say a word, because I know you'll try and refuse, I know that you'll say you don't want any of it. But if you don't accept this then it will go to the remaining Black family, Andromeda was officially stricken from our family so that leaves my Narcissa and Bellatrix, Bellatrix is classed as a fugitive like me and any appeal on her behalf would be pointless so it means Narcissa would receive... well let's just say that the Malfoy's will be getting somethings I don't want them to have. _

_So if you refuse anything at the will reading, it will be given to the enemy, and that would be an insult to me Harry. I know that sounds cruel but this letter is full of things I have yet to tell you, and hope to tell you in person. But if I never do then this letter is here as a precaution. _

_First of all, it's fine to cry once in a while. Keeping your feelings bottles up is not healthy, unless you plan on taking your anger out on Death Eaters, but when you don't have anymore Death Eaters what are you going to do then? Exactly. So once again, it's fine to feel your emotions, your like me. You don't want people to see you at your weakest, when your vulnerable. In Azkaban I refused to show any emotion to those Dementors because that's how they get you, I'm not saying you shouldn't fear them, but don't show them you fear them because that gives them there power. But the next time you'll face them hopefully you'll have some tricks up your sleeve._

_Secondly, why are you not the top of your class? Lily and James, were brilliant, and I know you are. You proved it when you produced a Patronus in your third year which fended off over a hundred Dementors, do you know how much power that takes? And they were fleeing, not just being warded off, your Patronus radiated something that made those Dementors crap themselves. You were a third year and you were mastering a spell to a level I haven't seen Albus accomplish, so aren't you top of the class? Just think how mad it would make Hermione, that's be worth it in itself. _

_I know that what you need to know isn't in Hogwarts cirriculum but it has it's uses, your the son of two of the most brightest students Hogwarts has had and Godson of the brightest student Hogwarts has had! Joking, but seriously. I know it would mean so much to your mum especially if you passed Hogwarts with flying colours, your mother worked so hard for her grades, James seemed to do it with little effort, you are somewhere inbetween, you have the potential, you have the power you just don't use it. So get your arse into gear, show Hogwarts that Lily and James Potter's son is more than that!_

_Next, I kind of brushed on a few moments ago, but Hogwarts cirriculum is not what you need when you come up against Death Eaters trying to kill you, you need to be prepared. It'll come up again in the will reading, and the opportunity will be there for you to take._

_Finally don't forget to have some fun, prank the Slytherins, date some girls. Get yourself out of your shell, you might want to bulk up a bit, girls don't normally go for people who are skinnier than themselves! Again this will be touched on in the will reading. _

_There is no point for a long drag out goodbye because this won't be the last you'll hear of me, not by a long shot. You'll understand soon enough,_

_Love, your very proud Godfather, Sirius_

Harry had held back the tears whilst reading this, it had made it all the more real to receive official confirmation of his death, but what Sirius had written had prevented him from ruining the parchment. Placing the parchment down he began to shake, whimpering quietly as tears poured down his face. The words going through Harry's head over and over again, he tried to sniff through his blocked nose, feebly attempting to stop crying but he seemed that he had triggered something and couldn't stop crying as memories of Sirius poured in, he curled up under his thin blanket trying to find some comfort in the lumpy mattress as he hid his face from the world and sobbed uncontrollably...

He didn't want to insult Sirius memory...

He didn't want to insult his parent's memories...

He had to accept what Sirius said, because every word of it was true. He hadn't tried hard at anything unless he really wanted to, he had to do this, he had to, he had to uphold Sirius's and his Mothers and Fathers reputations. Prove to the world that he was not some kid who get's lucky, show them that he is one of the best there will be.

He was Harry James Potter, and he had something to prove.

* * *

The two weeks Harry had been at Privet Drive had been some what enlightening, they'd been interesting to say the least , but with the time he had on his hands he had done so much thinking that he might as well be studying for his O. again. He had been going on runs, almost spontaneously, he was skinny and he wanted to change that about himself, he wanted to look intimadating and confident, he had been confronting his feelings, as Sirius had suggested. Get all the skeletons out of his closet, it would give him a clearer mindset, plus it was like a weight was lifted. He had begun organising his mind, which was one of the first steps to mastering Occlumency properly, a rough outline of Occlumency, including brief descriptions and how to begin occluding your mind was in a book Harry had been given as a Christmas present a year earlier. He had deduced from it the basic instructions on how to start Occlumency training but he would ne something more detailed, but being such a rare magical skill there wasn't many books on the subject, after owling Flourish and Blotts, they had sent him a catalogue of all books he could owl order, but there wasn't any relevant books.

However there were a fair few books that caught his eye however and he had began listing them down, he had finalised his pickings three days a go and was expecting delivery sometime today, he couldn't really feel excited about it but it had given him something to look forward to, something to do other than mind numbingly boring chores, of course whilst doing these chores it would give him a chance to organise his mind properly, since he had started this he had noticed he had grown an eye for detail and was making other things much more aware, it was like having an unorganised mind clouded his perception and other qualities he hadn't really noticed he had, for instance. He had developed quite a knack for guessing who his guard was, it was just small details he had picked up on whilst he was working on the chores his Aunt had set him, he would notice movements or noises his invisibly guard would make and from this Harry would be able to come to the conclusion on who that was.

At the moment he was making use of Herbology skills and was tending to the front garden, pruning flowers and shearing the bushes. At least these plants didn't attack you, Harry thought. He was tending to the rose bushes when a small movement caught his eye, Mundungus had either woken up or had stumbled in his drunken had known it was Mundungus from the light odour of stale tobacco and firewhiskey that had greeted his nostrils since he had come outside, but the stench of alcohol gave no indication if he was drunk, Fletcher always smelt like that.

Harry was thinking about the letter he had been given from Sirius and the subsequent letter from Gringotts, not surprisingly Dumbledore had written to him expressing concern for his safety and when the date of the will arrived and Harry wasn't present the goblin's, for lack of a better word were very angry and had told Dumbledore expressively that the will could not be read without the main benefactor, so another the reading was re-scheduled for a week yesterday.

His thoughts turned to what Dumbledore had told him when the goblins had postponed the will reading...

"_It seems Harry that the goblins need your presence as the main benefactor..." Dumbledore had paused, expecting Harry to ask frantically what that meant and argue he didn't want anything but was met by a solemn nod._

"_So you have been asked to attend on the 18th of July, their shall be an order guard to escort you safely. You should be prepared to leave Privet Drive for 12:00 sharp...is there anything you wanted to ask?" asked Dumbledore._

"_No professor" muttered Harry, who returned to reading his book. He heard a slight sigh and he fought to keep a frown of his face._

"_Very well, I shall see you soon Harry. Stay safe." added Dumbledore, with that Fawkes burst into his room in a fireball and with a low trill exited with Dumbledore._

A hiccup brought him from his thoughts, Harry glanced at the direction it had come from and it happened again. Harry suppressed a smile as he rose, back burning from stretching. He heard a soft splutter and the slosh of liquid, drinking it was. Smiled Harry, he was going to go into the kitchen for a glass of water when he muttered just loud enough for Mundungus to hear,

"Death Eaters might not be able to see you Dung, but they'd hear you a mile away. Plus how would you fight them if your smashed?" chuckled Harry, leaving the question open as he went to get his drink. Under the borrowed invisibility cloak Mundungus stifled a snort of laughter, his shift was over soon anyway. See if he could spot Mad-Eye, thought Mundungus, taking another swig.

Harry leant into to the kitchen so as not to tread any mud into the house and poured himself a glass of water, taking his time before he got back to work. It was approaching evening, that meant two things. His owl order would be coming and a change of guard, and by Harry's calculations it was either Moody or Charlie Weasley. But Harry was fairly sure it would be Mad-Eye, who would be sure to report a package being delivered. Pondering on what to do he took another sip of his water, taking a glance at the front garden, he had little over a half hour of work to do. The Dursley's were out at a dinner party tonight, the fridge had a padlock on it and the batteries for the television remote had been hidden.

Not that he wanted to watch television, when his books arrived he would undoubtedly be up all night pouring over the Occlumency text book, honing his mind. Draining his glass he got back to work, focusing on finishing as quickly as he could...

Three hours later, the sun was beginning to set, the Dursleys had left and the image of an owl in the sky line was growing bigger and bigger. Harry was urging the owl to fly faster, but it was another minute before it flew into the window Harry had left open. The bird threw Harry a dirty look, not that he could blame it. It had just had to carry two dozen books, Harry quickly untied the package, the owl gave him a indignant hoot, turned and flew back out of the window, not bothering to rest.

Closing his window he saw Moody's wooden leg extend from under his invisibility cloak for a split second, he couldn't resist it.

"Constant Vigilance Moody!" said Harry loudly, he couldn't seem Moody turn to him but knew that Mad-Eye was giving him an furious look. With that he closed the window and was oblivious to the world around him until late next morning...

Moody was seething, not only had Potter declared Moody's position to the surrounding area but he Potter had also either seen or knew it was him. It was unsettling, he was sure the boy had glanced in his direction almost every time he had been on guard, and some of the reports Mundungus and some of the Weasley family had given him let him know that he was not the only one being noticed. Heck Charlie Weasley had told him that Harry had asked him about how the Norbert was doing the moment his shift had began.

He would tell Albus about this at the next Order meeting, he had so far kept it quiet thinking it was lucky guesses but it was something else... Almost as if he had developed into a skill and Dumbledore had asked to be kept up to date about anything new Harry might be doing.

Taking a few more deep breaths he calmed down and settled into the night shift, but he noticed Potters bedroom light didn't go out at all...

* * *

This is a more realistic version of my other story. And instead of the plot with my other story it won't be everyone has lied to Harry. There will be some resentment, but it's not going to be a SuperHarry which is what I think my other story was turning into. This will be more gritty/realism. I hope you enjoy it!

Please review it to help me make the story better for you to read...

And by the way, I'm using Pages 08, Apple Software. I don't know how to change the spellchecker to English UK, I proofread every chapter, but I make mistakes.

Don't be pessimistic and flame me for it


	2. Chapter 2

Several days later at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the first Order meeting since the Department of Mysteries was about to begin. It was rather early in the morning and many were not fully awake, Ron, Ginny and Hermione who would normally be doing all they could to listen in on the meeting were fast asleep. Many were waiting for Albus Dumbledore, although a few were yet to arrive, Tonks was looking a tad red eyed as did Remus Lupin who appeared to look shabbier than ever. His robes slightly more worn that usual, a few minutes of quiet conversations with each other, Moody entered the house, fresh from another watch at Privet Drive. Seconds later Albus Dumbledore appeared in the middle of the room in a flash of fire, many were startled slightly and some had to rub there eyes, not yet used to the light. Without saying a word Dumbledore walked into the meeting room, hurriedly followed by everyone else.

"Before we begin this Order meeting Alastor would you like to give us an update on Harry?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

"Well as a matter of fact Albus, yes. I was going to save it till the end of the meeting but seeing as you asked... He seems to have developed a way to know where his guard is and who it is guarding him at whatever time, I don't know how he's doing it and I wish I could find out but the boy seems to know who it is, every time." said Moody.

"And how do you know he knows who his guard members are at any one time?" asked Dumbledore, intrigued to hear this.

"Well he glances at my position every time I'm there, heck last week he told me to have some "Constant Vigilance" muttered Moody, before Dumbledore could reply Hestia Jones chipped in,

"He asked me 'How was my day going Ms. Jones' the last time I was on guard" she chuckled.

"Interesting... Is there anything else to add?" Dumbledore asked Moody almost optimistically. Moody appeared to think things over before he responded.

"He's received a package or two, last one was quite bulky. I scanned it there was nothing sinister, just a few books. He's been staying up late, all night sometimes, reading books, writing things down, he hasn't been sending much owls though, Oh! He's gone on a few runs apparently, first time he did it Tonks scrambled after him thinking he was making a run for it, said she hadn't been so tired since auror training" laughed Moody, making a tired looking Tonks blush.

"I'd have like to see you catch up to him Mad-Eye, he ran for miles. Don't know where he gets his energy from." she muttered.

"Can we get on to more urgent matters Albus?" pressed Snape, a few frowns were sent in his direction but he ignored them.

"Of course my boy, of course. Any news from Voldemort?" asked Dumbledore, ignoring the variant shudders it sent through the room.

"The Dark Lord has been vacant as of late, rumours of an injury at the Ministry, Bellatrix told me you two dueled?" asked Snape, gasps throughout were emitted throughout the room. Not wanting to discuss it Dumbledore responded straight away.

"It's true, we dueled. I arrived at the entrance of the ministry, interrupting a ongoing duel with Mr Potter and Voldemort. Subdued Bellatrix and sought to force Voldemort to flee, he did eventually but not before possessing Harry. I suspect it was he that injured Tom, I didn't cast a thing that would have injured he so severely that he would still be incapacitated." replied Dumbledore, outcries of anguish across the room were being shouted as he finished, not only had Dumbledore dueled You-Know-Who but as had Harry and he had lived and then was possessed. Snape however wanted to continue his conversation.

"The Dark Lord...fought Potter? And Potter lived?" asked Snape, in disbelief. His question silenced the room, Dumbledore nodded in answer, Snape didn't give the room time to shout about it again.

"And he possessed Potter, what happened then?" asked Snape, everyone in the room fell silent for an answer.

"Tom asked me to kill them, to kill them both...but I didn't and Tom appeared near Bellatrix, panting somewhat grabbed her and glanced at both me and Harry before disapparating them both away." said Dumbledore simply. He had not told anyone in the Order what had happened until now, so everyone in the room was discussing it at length. Dumbledore however wanted to continue the meeting.

"That's enough for now. You can all discuss it later, now tomorrow is the reading of Sirius's will. If you have been invited to attend then you know what time it is scheduled, Harry's guard you are to be at Privet Drive for 12:00 sharp, Harry should be ready for your arrival. I shall meet you at the Gringotts, and shall then escort Harry back to Privet Drive." said Dumbledore sternly.

"When is he going to leave that awful Muggle house, Albus?" said Molly Weasley exasperatedly.

"After the will reading tomorrow, Harry will return to Privet Drive until the day before his birthday. I don't see a reason why he cannot enjoy his birthday with his friends." smiled Dumbledore.

"I don't think he'd want to come back here, after Sirius and everything..." said Tonks, drifting off slightly.

"I agree Ms Tonks, but where else can he be with his friends safely?" said Dumbledore rhetorically. The question hung in the air until Dumbledore continued;

"How are Ron and Ginny doing? Ms Granger arrived a week a go am I correct?" he asked politely to Mrs Weasley

"Ron seems to have had no problems following the battle at the Department of Mysteries, the brains haven't done anything other than leave some scars which should fade soon enough, Ginny's ankle was healed quickly enough and she seems to be coping well. Ginny spends her time reading through some of Ron's books probably to get a head start on next year, Ron is either sleeping, eating, doing Quidditch practices or is locked up in his room. Hermione is very frustrated because the library upstairs and she has nothing to do, Apparantly it's closed itself, do you know anything about it?" asked Molly.

"I could only guess that Sirius's death has something to do with it, he couldn't claim the Black title as a fugitive but I think the house recognised his presence and opened the library. We'll know everything for sure at the will reading. Is there anything else?" he asked to the room openly. Mr Weasley cleared his throat.

"Yes Arthur?" Dumbledore looked at him pointedly.

"Fred and George have been persisting that they should be able to join the Order now that they are of age, they keep saying that there old enough now and understand the responsibilites it takes to be an Order member and want to join immediately." said Arthur, Molly was had a tinge of red in her cheeks suggesting that she may be annoyed at what her husband had said. The entire room looked at Albus, waiting for an answer, they all knew that those two pranksters would be beneficial but many doubted their maturity. Dumbledore rested his head on the tips of his fingers, apparently thinking.

"I will have to consider this carefully Arthur." said Dumbledore.

"You can't Albus, they are much to immature and to young!" burst Molly, a few people in the room slightly nodded at this outburst. Dumbledore didn't concur with Molly instead just gave the room a warm smile and rose from his seat.

"I think that's everything, now if you'll excuse me if have to get to the Ministry. Cornelius has constantly been sending me owls ever since Voldemort's return, I fear he will do something rash... have a pleasant day everybody." Dumbledore said cheerfully, with that Fawkes flamed in and almost instantaneously flamed back out.

* * *

At Privet Drive, Harry had seen Moody leave and waited for the other guard to show up. He didn't want to spark any search parties if he were to go on his run whilst the guard were changing, whilst waiting he resisted opening a book he had been very anxious to start, instead occupying his time with remembering some of the spells he had learnt yesterday. After a good twenty minutes he heard a crack of Apparition, it was Tonks today. She had struggled to keep up the last few times, Harry remembered hearing her gasping for air as he had finished her run, and with a smile exited Privet Drive walking right up to were her usual hiding spot was.

"Try and keep up today Tonks" with a tone of mock annoyance in his voice, he gave a quick stare to a patch of shaded grass and with a chuckle, began his run.

Eight and a half miles later...

Coming to a nice and steady halt, Harry Potter wiped his brow. Wanting to prevent the sweat dripping in to his eyes and burn his eyes. A few seconds later, he heard a heavily panting Tonks half sit down and half collapse onto the front lawn, the invisibility cloak covering her. Taking a deep breath Harry bid her a good day and went into Privet Drive. The Dursleys had left yesterday, gone to see Aunt Marge who had tripped up over one of her dogs and fallen downstairs. Surprisingly they had left Harry at Privet Drive, with a note explaining where they were going, expecting the house to be the way they left it and a small list of things to do.

Entering the kitchen he poured himself a drink, sipping the contents whilst looking over at the list of things to do. The Dursley's were not due back for three days at least depending on Aunt Marge's condition, he could get through everything else on the list in a few hours so he didn't have to worry about not finishing it. Putting on some breakfast for himself he went upstairs to shower and change, he returned to the welcoming scent of bacon and bagels. Pouring himself another drink he sat down and ate, contemplating the day ahead.

Deciding to tackle the list and complete it today, he got to work and put on some of Dudley's huge clothes to work in, he really had to get some that fit. Maybe he could do that tomorrow after Sirius's will reading, he vaguely wondered when he was going to be taken from Privet Drive as he cleaned the lounge. He started doing the jobs for inside the house first and do the one outside later and made his way through them quickly, finishing an hour or so after dinner, taking care on where to walk he went upstairs and did some stomach crunches and press ups for an hour or so, collapsing onto the floor heavily. Pulling himself up he had a long overdue shower, he walked back into his room and settled down comfortably and opened a thin paperback book, An Introduction To Wandless Magic - Fenwick Barbus

_Wandless Magic is a rare skill, those lucky to have an aptitude for it can perform simple spells at best. It is tiresome to the most magically powerful witch or wizard and should not be attempted by those who have either shown no promise in the field or lack the magic to do so. If you have performed wandless magic before then it is recommended that you perform the spell you first cast wandlessly, it requires no hand movements, just directions to the target. Be warned that you may fail to do so, you may never perform wandless magic again until faced in circumstances that may pressure you to do so or situations that force strong emotions upon you, the difficulty to perform the spell of course depends on the spell you are trying to cast, personally I would say try spells out of a spell book for first or second years. This book will help you through the problems that may hinder you, it is not a book that will show you how to perform wandless magic._

_(Data collected from historic data of wandless magic and those witches and wizards who can perform wandless magic and wish to withhold their names from publish)_

_Problems Casting (3-42)_

_Historic Uses of Wandless Magic (43-47)_

_Advanced Wandless Spells Recorded Being Used (48-49)_

_Monitoring Wandless Magic (50)_

_Legendary Wandless Magician List (51)_

Harry read the introduction in fascination, he had only bought his book to investigate more into the Lumos spell he had cast trying to search for his wand. Thinking about it the spell had come from his wand but he had not been holding it at the time. Skipping ahead to the Monitoring section he saw only a short paragraph,

_The Ministry of Magic has stated that it is unable to monitor or detect wandless magic being performed, the resources it would to attempt to enable a device that could would be a waste because the few wandless spells cast are not dangerous or worth monitoring and as such has rendered any notion to find a way to do so pointless. Wandless Magic cannot be detected in any environment and it is reported that Priori Incantatem would not reveal the spell either. _

Harry was elated at the news, he could attempt as much wandless magic as possible and the Ministry would be none the wiser. Thrusting his hand forward he concentrated, looking at his hand intently. The 'I must not tell lies' scar visible, he felt a flash of anger but ignored it and focused.

"Lumos!" he said hardly, a spark lit briefly before it left his hand, frowning he tried again producing the same results. He repeated it for an hour, results varied to the spark going brighter, and sometimes nothing appearing whatsoever. Forgetting his calmness he got frustrated at his inability.

"Dammit Lumos!" he shouted, a white beam of light shot form his hand. Temporarily shocked he waved his hand about directing the ray across his room. Feeling a bit woozy, he muttered the counter and the light left. Staring at his hand, it felt no different, it looked no different, but he still stared at his hand in wonder. He racked through his brain for another try, and with the anger gone but to intent and forcefulness still present he cast the Levitation Charm at a dusty book that Dudley had never read, it floated for a few seconds and began to drop but Harry panicking urged it to float back up, he over shot it and it slammed into the roof, shocked Harry dropped the spell and it dropped with a thud to the floor. Standing up he went to inspect the damage he may of caused but found no marks, with a sigh of relief he went back and began practicing other spells.

It was just past midnight and Harry was exhausted, he had grabbed his tattered copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One. He had been exhausted for hours now but had kept going, he was barely keeping his eyes open and although he didn't realise it was breathing quickly, looking at the time he decided to call it a night and went to sleep, a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews so far!

A thanks to fragonknight01 especially for the spelling lesson

I don't consider it a flame at all it was very welcoming.

Coming up is the will reading, should hold a few surprises...

It should be up by the end of the week,

but it could be up any time before then also...

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this is all very cliche and classic independent, but I just want to stress it isn't going to be a political, powerful, amazing super harry. I wanted to do that now because halfway into this chapter a lot of you will be thinking that this is the same old story. It isn't, it's different.**

The weather seemed to match the overall mood of the room, Harry had been woken up by Tonks that morning. With a quick shower and change of clothes he was ready for the portkey with Mad Eye, Remus, The Weasley clan except for Percy and Tonks, and with the familiar tug beyond his navel found himself in Diagon Alley. It had a few people strolling the cobbled street but it was nothing compared to the normal, hustle and bustle that it had been in previous years.

Now Harry sat in a room in Gringotts around a table, waiting for Tightfist, The Executor of the last Will and Testament of Sirius Black. Their were quiet mutterings amongst themselves although Harry was avoiding them as much as possible, he was especially trying to avoid Dumbledore. A mixture of embarrassment and anger swept through him when he had seen him in the room, fortunately he hadn't tried talking to Harry, yet.

Hermione and Ron were bickering about something as usual, Fred and George were looking, for the first time Harry could remember. Sad. Charlie and Bill who didn't know Sirius were looking at the ground somberly, as a mark of respect. Arthur and Molly were muttering to each other quietly, Molly throwing sympathetic looks to Harry every so often. Remus looked particularly worn out, his robes looking shabbier than ever, though maybe it had been a full moon recently. Tonks was looking upset as well, looking like she had cried recently. They had been in the room for little over five minutes, Harry wished it would be over soon.

Although he had made major progress in accepting Sirius's death, especially with the letter he had left to him, he still didn't like being in front of this many people in this situation. It was almost as if he was expected to cry, he didn't like the silent pressure that was being put on him. As though he had to talk to someone about it, he figured Hermione would be the worst, trying to coax everything out of him and try and talk to her about it. But he wasn't that kind of guy, and Sirius knew that, he was interrupted by his own thoughts when the door snapped open. Silence struck immediately.

"Good afternoon, apologies for the wait. Hope it hasn't caused any inconveniences for yourselves, we're here today to execute the Will and Testament of..." but he was interrupted as another door slammed open, Draco Malfoy entered looking as smug as ever, his mother Narcissa walking in after him looking every bit as smug as her son but still with the same disdainful look on her face as she had when Harry had last seen her. Outrage immediately sparked throughout the room, Harry controlled himself from making any kind of remark or action to the arrival of Malfoy. Ron however was not so tactful.

"What's he doing here? " shouted Ron angrily.

"I could say the same to you Weasel!" sneered Malfoy, turning to look at Harry.

"And you Scarhead, what are you doing here?" spat Malfoy. Harry in reply just rolled his eyes, a bored expression on his face. Before anything else could be said Tightfist cut in to the conversation.

"Lady Malfoy, I take it you have received an invite. Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to attend, and I see Mr. Malfoy has been invited as well. Take a seat, we where just getting proceedings on the way." said the goblin curtly, Ron went to say something else but was silenced by a look from his mother.

"As I was saying, we are here to execute the final Will and Testament of Sirius Black, he left a detailed list of who his benefactors are, it shouldn't take long to complete so let's get started...Ah Lady Malfoy, you and your son are the first benefactors on the list..." said the goblin reading the will to himself before saying anything. Draco had an eager look on his face as did Narcissa, Harry wanted to curse them both so badly they would never have that look in their eyes again but restrained himself.

"To Narcissa and her brat I leave a list of all monetary and non-monetary assets and a knut each. Once they take these items they are to leave immediately." said the goblin, a bemused tone in his voice, the expression changed instantly. Draco to fury and Narcissa to bewilderment.

"There must be some mistake, the Black title by rights should go to the eldest remaining male in the Black family. That's Draco." said Narcissa blankly.

"No Mr. Black was very specific who would receive Head of the Black family and it certainly wasn't your son." said the goblin.

"That's not possible, it's Draco's birthright!" hissed Narcissa.

"Mr. Black expressed his wishes very clearly, you may leave now Lady Malfoy." said the goblin, the items appeared in front of them both but they didn't make a move.

"This isn't right it is Draco's birthright, you will give him what is rightfully his!" screeched Narcissa. Draco who hadn't made a sound yet had a tinge of red in his cheeks, he picked up the list that had sprang before him and his eyes bulged slightly.

"I'm sorry Lady Malfoy but I must ask you to leave." said the goblin pointedly.

"The Black vaults are mine you filthy creature!" snarled Malfoy who leaped to rip the list from the goblins grasp. Before anyone reacted, the goblin outstretched his arm and sent Malfoy flying backwards wandlessly.

"You will leave now, before the Goblin Nation freezes your remaining vaults." said Tightfist menacingly. Draco staggered to his fee and went to retrieve is wand but Narcissa clasped his arm, stopping him doing so.

"Come Draco." with that, she left with as much dignity as she could. Her head haughtily pointing in the air, Draco took one last glare around the room and stormed out.

"That was brilliant" chorused the Weasley twins, this put a slight smile on every-ones face.

"Now that is over we can continue, Bill Weasley? You are left with a fifty thousand galleons and a small cottage on the coast, Charlie Weasley, you also receive fifty thousand galleons and a chateau in the South of France. You will be given your keys and deeds to the properties when you leave. You can stay for the remainder of the reading or leave now. It's up to you." both of the Weasley men stayed were they were, shocked and touched at the gestures of a man they'd never known.

"Alastor Moody, every single dark artifact and dark detector in the Black Vaults as well as fifty thousand galleons and a retirement home if you ever fancy using it in Wales." said the goblin, Alastor smiled gently at Sirius's remarks.

"Fred and George, the modern day marauders! Fifty thousand galleons each, an apartment in Diagon Alley and the shares the Black family have in Zonkos, split evenly between you." smiled the goblin. Fred and George were shocked at what Sirius had left them and did something not many people had seen, they cried silently for a few seconds, choked up at the title Sirius had bestowed upon them.

"Ginerva, how I know you hate being called that. Fifty thousand galleons to you my dear." quoted the goblin. Ginny smiled at the name Sirius had called her.

"Ron, I leave you fifty thousand galleons and season tickets to the Chudley Cannons." said Tightfist to an astounded Ron.

"Hermione, I give you enough books that you'll be busy for many years to come and fifty thousand galleons also." Hermione began crying as well, at the gesture of Sirius.

"To Nymphadora Tonks, don't make that face Nymphadora is a great name, I leave you half a million galleons and a small place in the countryside. Have fun Nymphadora, I'll never tire saying your name." It was Tonks who broke down now, she had been tearing up since the beginning but to hear what Sirius wanted to say it broke her down, holding on to Remus for support.

"To Albus Dumbledore, you receive Number 12 Grimmauld Place as headquarters and ten thousand galleons to be spent solely on socks." Dumbledore smiled gravely.

"To Moony, you are the last of the true marauders. I leave you a million galleons and an additional fifty thousand to be spent on clothes. And clothes alone." Remus smiled sadly, several tears fell as he shuddered emotionally.

"And to my godson, I leave everything else. The rest of the gold in the Black vaults, the deeds to the remaining properties, a list of books that will hopefully help prepare you, my love and a letter. Also I name you Head of the Black family." said the goblin with a smile on his face. Not really understanding what it meant Harry just fought back the tears, he wouldn't cry here. Not in front of so many people...

"Mr Potter, do you accept the title of Head of the Black family?" asked the goblin, Harry looked up to see everyone looking at him and was about to answer when Dumbledore interrupted.

"Harry, I ask that you do not sign that." he said with an urgent tone in his voice. Momentarily shocked, Harry met the Headmasters gaze.

"And why is that Professor?" Harry said angrily, surprising everyone in the room at his tone of voice.

"I think that you do not understand the circumstances that you will place yourself in if you accept the position as Head of the Black family." said Dumbledore in a concerned tone of voice, Harry eyed the headmaster suspiciously. He wasn't considering not signing the parchment, he just wanted to find out Dumbledore's motives.

"If I don't sign this, it will go to the Malfoy's. Specifically Draco Malfoy, what makes you think I want that to happen? It would be an insult to Sirius!" said Harry in a raised and dangerous voice. Although Dumbledore's expression didn't change, his eyes did for a split second. He was shocked, he didn't expect Harry to know anything about that.

"I know that it's a delicate situation, but it will put you in danger." said Dumbledore, he sounded slightly desperate, mused Harry. He took a second to reply.

"How will I be in any more danger than I have been in the past?" Dumbledore was about to reply when Tightfist interrupted.

"Actually Headmaster Dumbledore, several of the properties that Mr. Black bequeathed to young Mr. Potter here have the Fidelius charm, one is actually Unplottable. Protection wouldn't be a problem" said the goblin curtly.

"The Fidelius charm can be broken, you know this Harry." said Dumbledore softly. Harry's anger flared at the remark towards his parent's demise.

"With respect sir, it was good enough for Grimmauld Place last summer and I bet it's where you'll want to send me after the Dursley's" said Harry testily.

"The situation is different now Harry, Fudge has acknowledged Voldemort's return so he won't be as inactive this year." said Dumbledore warningly.

"I'm not letting Malfoy have anything, Sirius left it to me." said Harry in another dangerous tone.

"Harry, you can't do that..." but Harry silenced him as he roughly took the parchment from Tightfists waiting hand and signed the parchment in a scrawl.

"Thankyou, that concludes the will reading. Mr. Potter you will have to stay to so a goblin can assist you with the Fidelius charms on your new properties." Nobody moved, everyones eyes turned to Dumbledore who was looking aghast at what Harry had just done.

"I said the meeting was over, Gringotts has a very busy day ahead of themselves following the acquisition of the Black vaults by Mr. Potter." glared the goblin, people began trickling out although some of the Weasley's and Dumbledore didn't move. Mrs Weasley broke the silence.

"Harry dear, your can stay with us at the Headquarters...if Remus permits it that is, until Hogwarts starts." Instead of replying, Harry sent her a very hesitant smile.

"Mr. Potter if you would come with me please." said Tightfist, who was arranging various papers. Dumbledore seemed to have come to his senses.

"Harry, I would like to offer my services as the secret keeper." blurted the headmaster. Harry looked at the man before him and gave him a sympathetic smile and nothing more before turning around and exiting the room. Following the goblin, he was taken to an office which seemed to be Tightfists.

**A/N I just want to remind you all what I said at the beginning, this is all very cliche and classic independent, but I just want to stress it isn't going to be a political, powerful, amazing super harry. I wanted to do that now because halfway into this chapter a lot of you will be thinking that this is the same old story. It isn't, it's different.**

"Now that is over with Mr. Potter, with your emancipation as it were. You now doubt have questions about your Family vault." said the goblin quickly as he began hurriedly sorting papers.

"My family vault?" said Harry.

"Yes the Potter Family vault. As the last Potter you were supposed to receive it on your seventeenth birthday but now you are emancipated you are automatically entitled to the vault."

"Oh...great." said Harry forcing a smile, but inside he was seething that he hadn't been informed about this.

"I took care not to mention it in front of Headmaster Dumbledore because it would be against the secrecy we pride ourselves on at Gringotts." sneered the goblin. After a few seconds of sorting yet more papers the goblin sat up at met Harry's eyes.

"Alright, now everything is sorted out. All Gringotts needs to know is who you want to be as secret keeper for the establishments."

"I would like to be the secret keeper for them." said Harry without a moments thought, the goblin seemed to frown for a second.

"Will it be a problem?" said Harry curiously.

"With the charms already in place it shouldn't be a problem, all we need is a drop of blood on each of these parchments" said the goblin, holding seven slips. Each with unintelligible writing on them.

"Do you have a knife I could borrow?" said Harry, not hesitating. The goblin grinned snidely.

"That shouldn't be a problem, would you like all your vaults to be joined into one?" asked the goblin.

"Yes, I don't have my key on me at the moment, I think Mrs. Weasley has it." said Harry worriedly.

"It will be a new vault, a word of warning though. Don't hand your key to anyone now, it may have...unpleasant results." the goblin said slowly, as if considering how to word his sentence. Not wanting to question what that meant he made a mental note of it.

"Here's the knife, I shall get the key to you by the time you've finished here." the goblin then hurried frantically out of the room leaving Harry alone. He picked up the knife, eyeing the sharpness. Holding his breath he dug it into his thumb, grimacing slightly he held his hand and dropped the blood onto the slips of parchment one at a time. The goblin was back as he was doing the fifth slip.

"Those slips are your Mr. Potter, they show the address of the home. Once you read them, you will have the knowledge of the house and can destroy these slips so other people cannot see them unless you want them to of course. I've also brought you a moneybag. This is charmed so that you can withdraw money from your vault without having to endure the arduous cart rides, you won't have to come to Gringotts at all, you can take your gold out wherever you are. It's also charmed to only accept those with Potter blood." explained the goblin to a confused looking Harry.

"How can I get to my properties?" asked Harry, slightly worried.

"Ah of course, you can learn to apparate, floo or portkey to them." said the goblin quickly.

"Is their a way to transfer galleons for muggle money?" asked Harry.

"It will require another key being made Mr. Potter, we link it similarly in the way of your moneybag except it's fashioned as a muggle wallet instead of a bag." said the goblin quickly.

"Could I request one?" asked Harry kindly.

"Certainly, just give me five minutes to sort everything out." said the goblin kindly, he returned in four. With a simple looking black leather wallet.

"Here you are Mr. Potter, charmed like we said. Again this can only be opened by those with Potter blood." said the goblin quickly.

"Thanks, is that everything?" inquired Harry.

"I think it is Mr. Potter, thank you for your patience and again we at Gringotts are sorry for your loss." the goblin bowed graciously, Harry hesitantly copying the moves.

"I'll walk you out Mr. Potter, I have a feeling Headmaster Dumbledore will be waiting for you." smirked the goblin. True to his word, Dumbledore wa waiting in the main foyer, bothering a goblin. Undoubtedly about where Harry was. Harry saw the Weasley's and Hermione behind him chattering amongst themselves.

"Ah Harry my boy, finally. Are you ready to return to Privet Drive?" Dumbledore said tentatively, ignoring the hiss from Mrs. Weasley. Harry's eyes narrowed slightly at the suggestion.

"Actually sir I was counting on shopping a little." said Harry, trying to hide his anger.

"Of course Harry I understand that now you're 'emancipated' you might want to take advantage of your stature, but I must insist that you return to your Aunts as soon as you can." said Dumbledore urgently.

"I don't have to return there." shot Harry.

"You...you have to Harry, for your own protection..." started Dumbledore.

"I don't have to at all, now if you excuse me I have an busy day ahead of me." said Harry you moved past Dumbledore and turned to the Weasley's and Hermione.

"Would any of you like to come along?" said Harry. They turned to Mrs Weasley all looking expectedly, she seemed frantic about the decision but Mr. Weasley made it before she could reply.

"The children are welcome to join you Harry, but I'd like someone to accompany you."

"I'll do it." said Charlie. Harry smiled at him in thanks.

"We've got to get back to the shop." said the twins in unison before leaving.

"I want to know where you got the money for that!" shouted after them.

"I'd like to come, Hermione?" said Ginny.

"Yes I'd love to, Ron are you coming." asked Hermione, Ron grunted in reply.

"Well, I've got to get back to work." said Bill bidding them all a good day.

"Can we take some money out?" Ron asked his mother. Mrs. Weasley gave him a disapproving look.

"Just because you've got money, I don't want you to be spending it all at once." she scolded him, Ron pouted.

"I suppose you can Ronald." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, I'll talk to you at Headquarters." said Dumbledore, who walked away without another word. Harry bit back a reply.

"Right then, we'll see you back at headquarters. We've talked to Remus, we're welcome to stay there for the rest of the summer." Mrs. Weasley beamed.

"Come on Harry! I want to go shopping!" Ron half-shouted, dragging a reluctant Harry, who had a slight frown on his face that nobody noticed. they were swiftly followed by Hermione and Ginny.

The rest of the Weasley's bid each other a good day and left.

* * *

"Whoa look at all this gold!" shouted Ron. Who began scooping galleons into his pockets.

"Ronald! You won't have any left!" shouted Hermione as he walked back, pockets bulging. It was only a quick cart ride to Ginny's who reacted similar to Ron but was less obvious about it, at Hermione's vault she only took a handful of coins. The cart zoomed upwards to the foyer.

"Harry, why aren't we going to you vault." shouted Ron, although he was barely audible.

"Don't worry!" Harry shouted back. They reached the foyer and exited Gringotts, Ron and Ginny eager to spend what gold they had on them almost ran into Fred and George's store which was already packed. Harry eyed the twins who were looking swamped but had grins on their faces at the attention their shop was receiving from all the business that they were generating. Charlie stood at the door, Ron had raced of, scanning the shelves and grabbing everything that interested him. Hermione rolled her eyes and went to stop him spending everything he had. Harry turned to Ginny but saw that she had gone, looking over the crowds he saw her head bobbing up and down in a very pink looking section.

"Hi Harry!" said the twins in unison.

"Gred, Forge!" greeted Harry with a smile.

"Hey look mate, we just to tell you how sorry we are about Sirius." said Fred seriously.

"Yeh, we know you and Sirius were close and if you want to talk about it then we want you to know you can talk to us." said George, Harry went to reply but Fred was already talking again.

"I mean Ron's an idiot and Hermione will press you to talk about it so if you ever get sick of those two you've got us to talk with."

"Or prank with." muttered George with a smile.

"Or drink." suggested Fred with a cheeky grin. Harry smiled at the pair of them.

"Cheers guys, it means a lot. So what's this about Zonkos?" asked Harry seriously.

"Well combined we own 20% of Zonkos, their will probably be a few owls heading are way soon." said Fred.

"They'll want to talk about merging or buying us out probably." said George a bit sadly.

"I take it you don't want that?" said Harry.

"We'd rather be the main joke and prank shop in wizarding Britain." said Fred simply.

"But at our age it's hard to be taken seriously, especially without N.E.." remarked George.

"Mum keeps trying to get us to go back to Hogwarts, but after all the trouble we've taken to open the shop..." started Fred.

"We don't want to just close it down." finished George.

"Couldn't you hire people to look after the store while you were at Hogwarts?" suggested Harry.

"We were thinking about that, but in these times I don't think we could find that many trustworthy people." explained Fred.

"I guess so, tough break." said Harry sympathetically.

"So what are you looking for today?" asked George, turning the conversation back to brighter topics.

"I'll pick a few things up here for Hogwarts but I want to get a few things from some other places, come on. We better help Hermione stop Ron for spending all his money...even if it is in your store." grinned Harry.

"...Ronald you don't need all of those Skiving Snackboxes!" scolded Hermione, Harry and the twins interrupted the conversation before it turned into a full scale argument.

"There's no Umbridge this year Ron, you don't need a years supply." chuckled Harry.

"I guess so." said Ron rather dejectedly, who put a few back. The five of them went around the store, with Fred and George giving them a brief description of every product they came across. They nearly had to physically tear Ron away from some of the products, some of which Harry had superstitiously added to his bag. It took them an hour to go around all the shop, Ginny had joined them for the last half hour tour of the shop.

"So, what's this stuff?" said Ron irritably, angry about not being allowed to buy the 'Wizards Guide To Witches', which was something Harry had added to his bag

"That's a spot remover, 10 second guarantee to remove anything from blackheads to zits." said George, "And the little tubs next to them is an ointment for sores and bruises." Harry grabbed a tub of the first and four of the latter.

"Peruvian Darkness Powder, handy for a quick escape and we're just about finished." smiled Fred, seeing Harry picking up two packets and placing them on top of his bag.

"Ron, Hermione, Ginny we've got something special for you." said Fred hastily, leading them away. Harry was confused for a moment when George patted him on the shoulder.

"Relax Harry, he was distracting them so we could add up the mountain of items you've got." winked George.

"Oh, you guys noticed?" mocked Harry with a smile. George began adding everything up.

"Alright with the part-owner discount that comes to a hundred and three galleons and five sickles." said George after about five minutes.

"Wait...owner discount? No George, I gave you that money. I don't want anything back." said Harry.

"Well it's tough your part owner and both me and Fred agreed that you would get a discount on products. It's the least we could do, I mean we'd offer you a portion of the profits but I'm guessing you wouldn't accept that at all." grinned George.

"No...I wouldn't, well if it's alright with the both of you. Thanks." said Harry appreciatively.

"No problem, Harry." replied George. Harry took out the galleons from his charmed moneybag and was counting it for George when he thought of a way to repay everything Fred and George had said and done for him today.

"George, I'll lease the shop for you so you won't have to close it down. You can finish your schooling at Hogwarts without worrying about loosing your shop." said Harry.

"Harry, we couldn't do that. You've already given us start up money, we couldn't ask you to do that." replied George.

"Well it's tough, I'm doing it." said Harry stubbornly.

"i'll talk to Fred, we'll think about it." said George seriously. Harry smiled in gratitude.

"...Don't know why you bothered showing us that Fred, we've already seen it." Ron's voice came from beyond the crowd of people.

"Let me charm your bags." whispered George hurriedly, shrinking them and casting a feather lightweight charm on them. Harry nodded in gratitude.

"...Fred you showed them us five minutes after I joined the tour." Harry heard Ginny's angry voice before seeing the red hair and flushed face come into his eyesight.

"Sorry, must have forgotten. George, everything taken care of here?" asked Fred innocently.

"Why? What was happening here George? Harry?" questioned Hermione.

"Just about Sirius and things..." said George offhandedly, blushing slightly.

"Oh...sorry." said Hermione meekly.

"Let us just add your bag up Ron." said Fred.

"I'm your brother! I have to pay for this stuff!" said Ron angrily.

"It's not a charity." Fred replied simply, Ron stalked off throwing various products back, returning with a less full bag. After paying the twins turned to them.

"No problem, now we've got the shop to take care of. See you four later." said Fred. Leaving the four of them in the middle of a bustling shop. Charlie came walking over from where he was stood and joined them.

"Where to next?" asked Harry, open to anywhere. He would come back to get everything else the next time. If he bought them today, it would no doubt raise questions.

"Flourish and Blotts!" responded Hermione, almost instantly. Ron and Ginny sighed and Harry grinned at the predictability of Hermione.

"Well lets go!" said Charlie, before Ron could make a comment, making Harry laugh.

In the bookstore, Charlie took his place at the door while the four of them split up, Ron and Ginny to the Sports section, Hermione to the History section and Harry...Harry was looking around not really knowing what to do. He'd already bought the books he wanted and was happy with what he had left to read for the time being so went and stood next to Charlie.

"Not interested in books?" said Charlie to him as he leaned against the wall.

"No...I got mine delivered before we came here." said Harry simply.

"Right...Mad-Eye told us at the Order meeting." replied Charlie, a note of realisation in his voice. They got into an interesting conversation about dragons and how Norbert was doing and the Hungarian Horntail that had tried it's hardest to kill him. It was at least half-and hour before Hermione came back with one book, with Ron and Ginny not far behind them with a book each.

"Quidditch Manoeuvres for Chasers." said Ginny.

"Mines for Keepers." said Ron.

They went on to walk around Diagon Alley, buying little things every nope and again before it was time to go back to Grimmauld Place. One by one, flooing. With a sigh Harry climbed into the grate. He was going to return to Grimmauld Place, it was part of his plan of what to do next, but he still had Sirius's letter to read.

"Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!" shouted Harry.

* * *

Next Chapter, The Letter and other things.....Maybe even shopping...

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	4. Chapter 4

Hello, this is just a quick update for those that do still follow this story or myself as an author on this site. I have a new username AbolishedPenguinWriter and a new story which is being updated regularly.

Link - .net/u/3021879/AbolishedPenguinWriter

Story - .net/s/7127460/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Time_Of_Change


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